Most Popular
1500 questions
173
votes
10 answers
How do I reload a file in a buffer?
I usually work on files which are updated in the file system via version control. What's a quick way to reload a file without having to C-x C-f the file again and getting asked if I want to reload it?
Fernando Briano
- 1,955
- 2
- 15
- 13
136
votes
4 answers
What are the practical differences between the various Emacs Package Repositories?
I notice that there are several different repositories that often contain the same software. Why would I want to prefer:
GNU ELPA
Marmalade
MELPA
over the others? Since any one repository does not contain all the packages that I want, is it a…
Eric Brown
- 3,222
- 4
- 17
- 20
128
votes
14 answers
How to switch between windows quickly?
How do I switch between windows quickly?
I often have multiple windows open and need to switch between them. Right now, I use C-x o to get to the one I want. Is there a more efficient workflow available for this?
Sibi
- 3,683
- 2
- 24
- 35
124
votes
6 answers
Are there any advantages to using ~/.emacs.d/init.el instead of ~/.emacs?
I've normally used ~/.emacs for my config file, but I've noticed others using ~/.emacs.d/init.el. Are there advantages to the init.el location? Any disadvantages?
Larry Coleman
- 1,475
- 2
- 11
- 10
120
votes
3 answers
How to merge Git conflicts in Emacs
My recent Git merge has resulted in a large number of conflicts. My current approach is to search for the next occurence of '<<<' and then perform the merge by standard text editing.
Question: is there a way Emacs can support merging using the…
Beginner
- 2,711
- 3
- 18
- 25
116
votes
9 answers
How can I get a ruler at column 80?
As a programmer, I want to see a ruler at a specific column (usually 80), both so I see when I cross that column, but also to see how close I am getting to it so I can reformat my code early.
The options I have found so far are all not achieving…
Jorgen Schäfer
- 3,959
- 2
- 19
- 19
113
votes
3 answers
How to Restore File System Access in macOS Catalina
I updated to macOS Catalina which requires the user through pop-ups to allow any app trying to access the file system for the first time.
No such pop-up is appearing for Emacs. Running the script shared…
wsaleem
- 1,233
- 3
- 10
- 8
109
votes
5 answers
What is the difference between Aquamacs and other Mac versions of Emacs?
Macintosh users have several choices of pre-built Emacs. I am aware of the following versions:
YAMAMOTO Mitsuharu's Emacs Mac Port
David Caldwell's Emacs for Mac OS X
Vincent Goulet's Emacs Modified for macOS
David Reitter's Aquamacs
Some…
Eric Brown
- 3,222
- 4
- 17
- 20
108
votes
12 answers
How do I prevent extremely long lines making Emacs slow?
I see hugely varied performance depending on how many newlines there are in the file I'm visiting.
Here's an example. I have two JSON files:
$ wget…
Wilfred Hughes
- 6,920
- 2
- 31
- 60
108
votes
4 answers
How do I get a fancier mode line that uses solid colors and triangles?
People occasionally post screenshots with modelines that have solid colors and triangles:
How do I replicate this effect?
Tikhon Jelvis
- 6,252
- 2
- 28
- 41
102
votes
7 answers
Quickly insert source blocks in org mode
org-mode has the ability to render source code, with blocks of the following syntax:
#+NAME:
#+BEGIN_SRC
#+END_SRC
Is there an existing command to quickly insert these blocks in org-mode,…
Matthew Piziak
- 6,038
- 3
- 31
- 79
101
votes
6 answers
Reading and writing email with emacs
How can we use emacs to read and write email?
This question is intended to provide a canonical landing point for users wanting to deal with email using emacs.
Please post only one package/solution per answer, with as much details as you can.…
T. Verron
- 4,283
- 2
- 24
- 56
97
votes
5 answers
Edit file with super-user rights
When you have to edit system files, it's an usual situation that you launched Emacs with a normal user before, so the file will be write-protected. What can I do to gain root privileges? I mean something like M-x sudo from dired.
I don't want to…
smonff
- 1,579
- 1
- 15
- 20
92
votes
6 answers
How to maximize my Emacs frame on start-up?
Is there a way to maximize my window on start-up?
Currently, I hit Control++Up on my keyboard but it is very bothersome to do that every time.
I am using Emacs 24.4 on Ubuntu 12.04.
programking
- 7,194
- 10
- 42
- 63
90
votes
25 answers
How do I switch buffers quickly?
In vanilla Emacs, I have to do C-x b and then manually type out the buffer name to switch. If I forget the name of the buffer, I have to hit TAB to list possible completions. Is there anything I can do to make this process faster?
nixeagle
- 2,457
- 3
- 18
- 14